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“Mmm. Food sounds nice.” Mateo gestured at the sack in Grant’s hand. “Whatcha got there?”
Grant held it up and stared at it as if he could see through the canvas bag. “Extra engine oil, batteries, and a couple of spare engine parts the boat place advised I have on hand.”
Mateo made a face. “You’re no help.”
“That’s where you’ve been?” Claire asked, a hint of questioning in her eyes. “Buying spare boat parts?”
Grant shrugged. “Among other places, yeah.”
Her head bobbed in what looked like a nod but he knew was judgment.
“What?” Buying boat supplies was something that needed to be done before the store closed. He had a trip to prepare for.
“Claire seems to think you’re avoiding a certain vet who only comes around on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” Mateo offered.
“I don’t think. I know,” Claire added. “Every time she’s scheduled to come, you disappear about thirty minutes before and get back long after everyone else is supposed to leave.”
Grant fiddled with the bag, doing his best to not make eye contact with his sister. “I had a couple of errands to run.”
“Why are you avoiding Molly?” Claire asked, a little more sympathetic this time.
“I—” He started to argue with her assessment but let his voice trail off. The truth was, that was exactly what he’d been doing. And clearly he hadn’t been stealthy about it. “It’s better this way.”
Claire cocked an eyebrow. “Better for whom?”
Him, her, everyone else involved. “She was a great locum vet. If the need ever arises, I hope Dr. Lacey uses her again. But it’s time for her to move on to her next assignment.”
Claire narrowed her eyes. “She has two more weeks. And what happened to the whole ‘distance doesn’t change anything among true friends’ speech you gave me the other day?”
“I’m pretty sure that speech was about family, not friends.” Grant did his best to sidestep the question.
“Is she the one?” Mateo asked.
The question caught Grant off guard, and he pulled his focus off his sister to stare at his friend. “What?”
“I know you two were vibing, but it’s more serious than that, isn’t it?”
The thought of Molly caused a wave of complex emotions to ripple through him. Was she the one? No. It took both parties being on the same page to be the one.
But could she have been the one? If things were different? That question was where things got a little complicated.
“We were friends. I enjoyed working with her. That’s all.” He hadn’t exactly answered the question, but it was the truth.
Mateo continued to study him. “So that’s it?”
Grant held his hands up to stop the rapid questions coming from the firing squad. “First of all, her plan was always to leave when her job was finished. As was mine. According to the plan, we’re both right where we should be.”
Claire’s brow knitted together with concern. “And you’re okay with that?”
No, he wasn’t okay with that. But what choice did he have? It was what it was.
“Plus,” Claire continued. “When has life ever followed through on any sort of plan? Isn’t it you who always says ‘plans were made to be changed?’”
Mateo nodded his head at her. “She has a point.”
Grant let out a sharp exhale. What did they want him to say? That this story could have a different ending? That he believed things like distance could be overcome, and when it came to them, “forever” was an achievable word?
That he finally had fallen in love?
